Rezension zu: Rajmund Hanke, Silesia Cantat. Dzieje polskiego śpiewactwa kościelnego na Śla̧sku [Silesia Cantat. The History of Polish Sacred Choral Societies in Silesia], Katowice 1996,333 S.

Summary: The aim of my research anchored mainly in musical anthropology is to describe, analyze and interpret motivations of the members in the children's music choir and their reasons to continue despite all the demands and difficulties. In addition to the basic ethnomusicological concepts I work with the theory of experience of making the music - the concept called "flow" as characterized in the book Flow (The psychology of optimal experience) by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, 1996 and the concept of functionality of institutions and their influence on the choir members by Philip Zimbardo - The Luciffer Effect, 2014. This work is methodologically based on the qualitative research paradigm of social sciences and is based mainly on semi-structured interviews with former members of the choir. Key words: ethnomusicology, czech children's music choir, motivation, flow, discipline

...I never saw another butterfly... is a twelve movement chamber work scored for SATB choir, narrator, percussion I [vibraphone, and tomtoms (4)], percussion II [timpani (4), tam-tam, snare drum, and bass drum], guitar, violins I and II, viola, and cello and is based on the book of the same name. It contains a variety of compositional techniques, forms and genres.

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Iconography of the Czech written Utraquist graduals Abstract: My doctoral thesis is devoted to the iconographic problems of painting decorations of a specific type of liturgical manuscripts. The subject of my doctoral thesis are illuminated chant books (graduals) with Czech texts of Gregorian chant, which originated in the 16th century for the needs of utraquist Confraternities of Litterati. The iconography of illuminations is interpreted with regards to their liturgical and codicological context within single part of the gradual. In the text, I especially accentuate the topics and motives from the whole complex of the themes which deserve attention and which newly appear in the structure of painting decorations or it is possible to interpret them in connection with the haecceity of the (utraquist) iconography and confessional identity. Heuristic compilation of illuminated utraquist chant books, which is the part of the structured catalogue, and interpretation of their iconography, represents the first elaboration which is fundamental to successive study dealing with iconography of single subjects, illustrations of particular saints and patron saints of places and specificity of the utraquist and catholic iconography in the epoch before the battle of White Mountain in Bohemia. My thesis, with regards to...

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Group singing is associated with numerous benefits to human health and wellbeing, including increased social ties and improvements in mental health (Ascenso et al., 2017; Clift & Hancox, 2001, 2010; Clift et al., 2010; Dingle et al., 2012; Grocke et al., 2009; Liebowitz et al., 2015; Livesey et al., 2012). In school ensembles, choral educators can significantly influence students’ experiences of connection, encouraging wellbeing, enjoyment, and continued participation in choir (Arasi, 2006, 2008; Morgan, 1992; Pentikäinen et al., 2021). Extant literature indicates that during group singing, individuals experience connection in three forms, as drawing singers together, also called togetherness; as synchrony among singers; and as singers’ sense of oneness with the world. These three forms of connection served as the conceptual lens for this study. The purpose of this phenomenological case study was to examine choral educators’ experiences of creating connection during group singing in the forms of togetherness, synchrony, and oneness. Four research questions guided this study: (a) How do choral educators describe the experience they create during group singing? (b) During group singing, how do choral educators facilitate singers’ connection in the form of togetherness, synchrony, or oneness? (c) What benefits and challenges exist for choral educators as they create connection? (d) Why do choral educators choose to prioritize connection? I used a phenomenological case study approach to investigate each participant’s experience as its own unique case, then used cross-case analysis and phenomenological reduction to reveal commonalities and differences that further illuminated the essence of creating connection during group singing (Merriam, 2009; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016; Moustakas, 1994). Using purposive, reputational, and maximum variation sampling, I selected five secondary school choral music educator participants who prioritized facilitation of connection in their work with students and who represented a variety of teaching contexts, professional, and personal characteristics. Data collection included interviews, field observations of rehearsals and performances, and classroom artifacts. Data analysis occurred cyclically and emergently (Creswell & Poth, 2018), following phenomenological procedures (Moustakas, 1994) to first analyze each participant’s experiences as a bounded case then to engage in cross-case analysis to uncover commonalities and tensions across cases (Stake, 2005; Yin, 2018). For each case, data analysis revealed conditions that created connection, barriers to connection, and an essence; cross-case analysis revealed a collective essence representing experiences of creating connection for all participants. Conditions that created connection involved using opening procedures, dissipating stress, releasing inhibitions, thoughtfully choosing repertoire, exploring choral texts, and fostering student ownership. Barriers included students’ inhibitions, teachers’ preoccupations, formal music education, school context, socioeconomic challenges, and COVID-19. The essence of each participant’s experience involved fostering student ownership and collaboration; uncovering students’ organic experiences of togetherness; “I gotchu,” an expression of unwavering support; impacting students’ mindsets; and vibrational alignment that can heal. Cross-case analysis through imaginative variation (Moustakas, 1994) revealed that for all participants, the essence of creating connection involved participants communicating care for students’ experience of life. The study’s findings offer implications for how choral leaders might facilitate experiences of connection during group singing. Findings suggest that choral educators seeking to create connection might help singers dissipate stress and anxiety, engage students in the creative process, reexamine traditional choral curricula, and use their personal strengths to communicate care for singers’ life experiences. Findings suggest ways choral educators might help create experiences of connection that can have a positive impact on students’ wellbeing. / Music Education

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